She had two choices.
She could bravely march up to his door with an excuse as to why she’d followed him.
Hi Gabriel. You left your history book at my house and I thought I’d stop by and return it to you since, you know, I was in the neighborhood. I often roam the deep woods of Georgia by myself after school….
Okay, clearly she’d have to work on the excuse.
Or she could turn around and go home. Like a chicken.
Scarlet tapped her fingers on the steering wheel for a minute.
She hated mysteries. Her own. Those of others.
She was done.
She’d spent the past two years being afraid of everything. Afraid of her past, afraid she’d never recover her memories, afraid she’d never be able to live a normal life… afraid of living.
Being fearful was exhausting. And Scarlet was done with the mysteries. Today, she was going to do something brave. Today, she was going to get some answers.
Scarlet got out of her car and quietly walked up to the cabin’s front door, her heart picking up with every step she took. Although there were many windows at the front of the house, all of them were closed off by drapes and blinds, making it impossible to see inside.
But also ensuring no one could see outside.
Gabriel had no clue Scarlet was standing on his front porch.
It was then that Scarlet started to reconsider her plan.
What was she going to do, knock on his door and say Surprise! Just thought I’d drop in and catch you in a lie?
That was certainly no way to make a good impression on his family members.
No, Scarlet needed to leave.
Gabriel hadn’t wanted to share this with her, and she should be respectful of that.
This wasn’t brave. This was stupid.
Scarlet lifted one tattooed shoe and was about to turn away when she heard the doorknob turn.
Someone was opening the door!
Oh, no. No, no, no.
Scarlet hadn’t perfected her excuse yet. The only thing she had in her arsenal was the roaming-the-woods-after-school thing. And that certainly wasn’t going to work.
Gabriel would see her standing out there and she’d have to explain that she’d followed him to the middle of nowhere because she was a crazy girlfriend.
And then he would get all freaked out and dump her. She could see the heartbreak unfolding, right there, on the front porch of Gabriel’s cabin mansion.
Scarlet had to flee.
Too late.
The front door swung open and Scarlet couldn’t help but stare up at the person who’d caught her prowling.
It was Gabriel.
He was looking at her in confusion and disbelief. A thousand emotions crossing his beautiful face as his mouth parted and his eyes searched her over.
Scarlet’s heart began to drum wildly inside her, pounding against her chest like a caged feral animal.
As if it were desperate to break free. Desperate for…something.
Desperate for…Gabriel?
Uncontrollable and fervent, it arose in her chest as if waking from a deep and heavy slumber.
What was happening to her?
She couldn’t tear her gaze away from him.
She’d never been more drawn to him or more captivated by him.
Brief, incoherent flashes of memory assailed her mind and stung her consciousness like tiny darts.
There one millisecond, gone the next.
She was frozen in place, drawing in one long breath like she was breathing for the first time.
When her eyes locked on his, her violent heart nearly stopped.
The eyes staring back at her weren’t brown like Gabriel’s.
They were bright green.
Scarlet blinked as a sudden realization struck her.
This wasn’t Gabriel.
This was his twin brother.
19
Tristan should have known.
He should have assumed something was off when his screaming soul had suddenly gone quiet. When the war raging inside him had fallen still.
He should have known Scarlet was nearby.
He’d run home to grab a few papers before heading back to the library to continue his research on weapons and, when he’d opened the door to leave, there stood Scarlet.
Like she’d been delivered to his doorstep.
Standing still. Staring at him.
Tristan thought he would die. He actually thought the part of his soul that endlessly clawed at his insides would die of happiness at her nearness.
It took every ounce of will power he had not to touch her and assure himself she was real.
But there she stood. Looking at him in wonder.
More beautiful than ever.
In an instant he took in her kind eyes and fragile cheek bones...her full lips and soft jaw…everything about her was familiar—precious….Tristan stared for a moment longer before reality snapped in his mind—and...completely off-limits.
She wasn’t supposed to meet him. To see him.
This was exactly why Gabriel shouldn’t have met her. He’d led her straight to Tristan’s door.
Scarlet seeing Tristan could mess everything up. It would mess everything up.
Why had Gabriel let her come here? Why hadn’t he kept her away?
Where was Gabriel?
Tristan tried to think of what to say, and momentarily entertained the idea of trying to pass himself off as Gabriel, when Scarlet spoke.
“I know you.” Her mouth parted, her eyes widened, and her head tilted to the side as she took a step closer to him.
Her eyes ran up and down his face, lingering in certain places, as her eyebrows drew together. “I…know…you,” she said again, taking another step closer.
Wind blew across the porch, lifting a strand of her dark hair and blowing it across her perfect face. The scent of her strawberry shampoo met his nose and he involuntarily inhaled.
A rush of memories—shoved to the depths of his soul in punishment—broke free and flooded his mind.
Memories of love…memories of life…memories of torment…memories of death….
Scarlet took another step toward him and he swallowed his emotion. He couldn’t afford to show any weakness. He couldn’t afford to give himself away.
He forced a look of indifference upon his face and took a slow breath.
She spoke again, her face only inches from his, and he thought his heart would bruise the inside of his chest if it beat any harder.
But his heart wasn’t thrumming out of control in a paranormal way; it was hammering in a way that was undeniably natural, beating out the tune of his tragedy.
“Who are you?” she asked. It wasn’t an accusation, it wasn’t a demand.
It was curiosity.
As if she were in a trance. Fascinated by what stood before her.
He knew the feeling.
Her blue eyes flashed, changing from their normal blue to an electric blue—lighting up her face—and Tristan’s heart stopped.
It was happening. Her eye color was shifting from healthy blue to deadly blue.
The supernatural color of her eyes lasted only a second before returning to a normal hue, but Tristan was in full panic mode.
She’d seen him and now her heart was pulling for him, thrumming fiercely and tearing itself in half. Bringing her closer to death.
He needed to run away—somewhere far from the beautiful girl before him.
He needed to keep her safe from her own heart.
But instead, he stood there, drinking her in like he was a thirsty man and she was water in the desert.
Because his soul…his foolish and hopeful soul…wanted her just as much as she wanted him.